1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rod and a method of manufacturing the rod. More particularly, the invention relates to a fishing rod having an inner layer formed of a prepreg sheet including reinforcing fibers oriented in one direction and having a width extending over an entire length of the rod, and an outer layer formed of a prepreg tape including reinforcing fibers oriented in a direction different from the one direction and having a width smaller than the length of the rod, the prepreg tape being wound over the entire length of the rod, and to a method of manufacturing such a rod.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, one section of a telescopic rod or an add-on type rod is formed of three prepreg layers (each layer including one to several plies) having reinforcing fibers. The reinforcing fibers of one layer extend perpendicular to those of an adjacent layer. In the case of a thin rod section such as a tip end section, the three layers would result in excessive rigidity. To avoid this, a prepreg sheet including reinforcing fibers oriented axially of the rod section and corresponding to an entire width of the rod section is wound to form a single layer (e.g. 0.1 to 0.25 mm thick) to check a spring-back (into a C-shape) occurring when wound thick. Then, a prepreg tape is wound, with reinforcing fibers oriented circumferentially of the rod section, to form an outer layer. This construction provides a thin rod section. The prepreg sheet may be internally lined with a layer of thin glass cloth, though it is a rare case.
However, where the prepreg tape is used to form the outer layer as above, its winding pitch is the question. That is, if the tape is wound too closely over the entire length, the entire rod may become too rigid and inflexible to cope with a sudden pull of fish. Conversely, if the tape is wound too sparsely over the entire length, gaps between adjacent winds of the prepreg tape (especially in a thin tip end region) could be damaged through contact with rocks or other objects on the shore, thereby impairing strength.